Islam

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major world religion belonging to the Semitic family; it was promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century AD. The Arabic term islam, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of islam) accepts “surrender to the will of Allah (Arabic: God).” Allah is viewed as the sole…

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1917 Encyclopædia Britannica articles, from the full 32 volume encyclopedia
>	Islam major world religion belonging to the Semitic family; it was promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century AD. The Arabic term isla, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of isla) accepts “surrender to the will of Allah (Arabic: God).” Allah is viewed as ...
>	Islam, Pillars of the five duties incumbent on every Muslim: shaha, the Muslim profession of faith; alsa, or ritual prayer, performed in a prescribed manner five times each day; zaka, the alms tax levied to benefit the poor and the needy; awms, fasting during the month of Ramadan; and hajj, the major pilgrimage to Mecca.
>	Sarekat Islam the first nationalist political party in Indonesia to gain wide popular support. Founded in 1912 the party originated as an association of those Muslim merchants who wanted to advance their economic interests in relation to Chinese merchants in Java, but the association became political. It quickly gained mass support and started working for the self-government of the ...
>	Nation of Islam African American movement and organization, founded in 1930 and known for its teachings combining elements of traditional Islam with black nationalist ideas. The Nation also promotes racial unity and self-help and maintains a strict code of discipline among members.
>	The Sunni-Shi'ite Division Within Islam The division of Islam into two major groups, Sunni and Shi'ite, has its origins in the struggles over the proper line of succession to the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who died in 632 CE. Muslims emulate Muhammad's words and deeds (his “way,” or sunna, which is codified in the Hadith) and consider him, as the recipient of the Qur'an (“the recitation” delivered ...
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261 Student Encyclopedia Britannica articles, specially written for elementary and high school students
	Islam A major world religion, Islam is based on the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad and was first established in Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia). From the Atlantic Ocean across North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern and Central Asia to the Pacific Ocean, the world's predominantly Muslim nations form a long, continuous band. (Muslims are those who practice the religion of ...
	Islam from the India article Muslims, who constitute 11 percent of the population, are the largest religious minority. Many of these followers of the monotheistic faith of Islam are descendants of invaders from the Middle East and Central Asia who began entering the subcontinent as early as the 8th century. Most, however, are descendants of converts from Hinduism and other faiths. The majority belong ...
	Islam. from the monk and monasticism article Neither Muhammad, the founder of Islam, nor the Koran, its scriptures, gave any encouragement to monastic ideals. Orders of mystics, called Sufis, did nevertheless emerge in non-Arabic Islam. The Naqshbandiyah, for example, was founded in Turkestan in the 14th century. Today the fraternity can be found in India, China, the Central Asian republics, and Malaysia. The order ...
	Islam from the martyr article The full sense of a martyr as a “witness unto death” appears in the Qur'an and is also treated explicitly in the Hadith. Generally, most Muslims agree that two groups of the faithful attain the rank of shahid: those killed in jihad, or holy war, and those killed unjustly. The precise details of the status accorded to martyrdom—whether a martyr is exempt from certain ...
	Islam from the religious education article The elementary school for Muslim boys is called the kattab (Arabic for “school”). Another term for it is maktab. The earliest of these schools used simple Arabic poetry and proverbs as texts for teaching reading. After Islam's holy book, the Koran, was put into written form, it became the basic school text. Once it was memorized and a fair degree of literacy achieved, ...
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